January 17, 2008 5:06 PM CST

Natural Stone Council to Assess Industry

By Masonry

The Natural Stone Council (NSC), a collaborative organization representing business and trade associations that promote stone under the Genuine Stone brand, will launch an industry-wide survey to assess environmental performance in early-2008.

In partnership with the Center for Clean Products at The University of Tennessee (UT), a data collection tool has been developed and will be distributed to U.S. quarries and fabricators in early-January. The natural stone industry will be asked to provide information about production processes, energy and water usage, and other components of daily operations that may impact the environment. Once the responses are received in mid-February, UT will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the data. The information will be evaluated and will form the basis of a life-cycle analysis of the environmental impacts of certain stone products, the development of strategic sustainability goals for the industry, and a plan for outreach to the environmental and green building communities.

All responses on the survey will be confidential and sent directly back to UT, which will report aggregated information. The survey data is crucial to industry efforts as they identify and quantify the processes and impacts associated with current industry practices and inform the development of management and operational strategies to promote overall improvement. The responses will help to create life-cycle data and assessments of stone compared to other building materials. For more information, visit www.genuinestone.org.

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Masonry, the official publication of the Mason Contractors Association of America, covers every aspect of the mason contractor profession - equipment and techniques, building codes and standards, business planning, promoting your business, legal issues and more. Read or subscribe to Masonry magazine at www.masonrymagazine.com.